Toe-dancing slipper



Nov. 28, 1933. E. DI RIENzo TOE DANCING SLIPPER Filed June 8, 1931 Figi.

INVENTOR Jia z' .Rienzo BYJn's ATTORNEYS www Patented Nov. 28, 1933 n vlf-'-.om'rros'rirresf PATENToFi-:rce A 'rola-DANCING SLIPPER ,Elia Rienzo, Brooklyn, N. Y; Y .e ApplicationJune* 8, 1.931.A Serial No. 542,776 fk I 4c1a.ims.f(cl. Vafs-3.3)] A .This invention relates to a method and means for manufacturing dancing slippers, particularly slippers for'use in toe-dancing', and contemplates the provision-of ablank which can be easily and quickly transformed into -a slipper Without the usual expenditure of time and labor involved in the manufacture of said slippers. -l

Hitherto it has been the custom inl making dancingslippers-'to make the upper of the slipper vv in three pieces.` One of thesepieces constituted a toe' piece and when laid out flat was substantially bell-shaped. In making a shoe, the sole is placed Yon the last with its bottom in contact with the last, leaving its upper portion exposed. The

`. unnished and unformed upper is then drawn over the last inside out andattached to the sole by cementing, riveting or sewing with a `McKay or Goodyear turn sole sewing machine. In attaching the upper to the sole it was always nec- 20 essary to form several pleats in the upper in order to produce the proper shape. Y This pleating of the upper during the attaching operation presented great dinculties since it was only with the exercise of extreme care that the operator could get the pleats in the proper place and arrange them so as to avoid extremely large protuberances.v

Moreover, it was impossible to attach the pleats to the sole securely enough to make the shoe durable. This was evidenced by the fact that the shoes always gave out first at the pleats which drew away from the'sole.

It is an object of this invention to provide an upper for such a shoe which is a symmetrical blank having a folding line through its middle and each side of which has ashape closely resembling the shape of the well known sabot or wooden shoe. The entire blank could be described as having the shape of a V, the apex of which is bow shaped.

The invention resides in the novel combinations hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 represents an inverted plan view of a slipper embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. e

Fig. 3 is a detailed vertical section showing th method of manufacturing the slipper. j

Fig. 4 is a section of the upper showing the cen- `50. tral seam.

Fig. 5 shows the upper. In the drawing numeral 5 designates the outer sole and 6 is the upper which is preferably sewed Y at 7 to the outer sole but could be cemented or riv- `eted. The upper is preferably made in one piece,

folded along the line 19 and seamed at the back 8 where the end of the Shanks. 9 are joined tov gether. The toe portion 10 ofthe upper is'formed bysewing the edges of the bow A1l together from the sole tothe folding line `19. YForming the toe in the foregoing way provides a'reinforcement to the central part and it insures a uniform stretch of-material about the forward part of theslipper, as indicated in'Figs. 1 and 2. i

A toe stiffener 12 is cemented to the inner part of the upper and constitutes a rigid back for the toe although Asometimes the toe stiiener is omitted when. it is preferred to have a soft toe. A lining 13 covers the inner part of the upper and it has an opening 14 for the insertion of a foot. The lining is substantially the same configuration as the upper and its lower portion is sewed to the sole therewith. This bow is so proportioned with respect to the rest of the blank that when the blank is folded along its folding line and the edges of the bow are sewn together and the ends of the legs of the V are sewn together the upper of the shoe is completed in its proper form and shape. Consequently, when a shoe is assembled on the last the necessity for pleating the upper during the attaching operation is entirely eliminated. This fact reduces the time necessary Vfor this operation to about onefth of the time hitherto consumed and entirely excludes the painstaking part of the operation.` Moreover, the shoe produced in this manner is entirely free from any ridges on the dancing surface. This is Very important since the presence of suchridge's is very apt to unbalance the dancer and make the shoes very uncomfortable to the wearer.

The provision of such a blankmakes possible the'manufacture of dancing shoes the uppers of which Aare free from wrinkles and unnecessary seams and are neat in appearance. Moreover, a great rdeal of the sewing that was necessary in the uppers hitherto used is eliminated. v

I also contemplate making the blank in two pieces, in which event the sides of` theblank will be separated along the folding line and when assembled will be sewn along the folding line. A very distinct advantage of the use of these blanks in the manufacture of shoes is that the shoes can 'be made by machinery as well as by hand. The shoes hitherto known which required f pleating at the toe could only. be made by hand. This presented a serious drawback to their manufacture on a large scale. This drawback is entirely eliminated by my invention. l The method of manufacturing a slipper in acroo cordance with my invention will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 5. The blank shown in Fig. 5 is rst folded along the line 19 and the edges of the bow 11 are sewn together. Then the ends of the legs 9 of the V are sewn together. The result of this operation is the upper in its nal form. A sole is next attached to a last with its inner side up. The upper is `turned inside out and drawn over the last so that its bottom edges 9 overlap the edges of the s ole. These bottom edges of the upper are then secured to the inside of the sole by cementing, riveting or sewing with a McKay or Goodyear turn sole sewing machine. The shoe is then removed from the last and turned right side out. l f

An inner sole 17 can be cemented or fastened by means of nails 18 to the outer s'ole. YIn manu# facturing the slipper while on the last itis turned inside out and it is preferred that the innersole be cemented on the inside of the outer sole after the slipper is taken from the last and turned. Modifications of the invention may be made. Forexample the uppercan bemade in two sections and seamed along the dotted lines 19, thus having the circular seam continuous to the open- V together and the sides of the bow together, thereby forming a complete upper, placing a sole on the last with its inner side up, turning the upper inside out and drawing it over the last until its bottom edges overlap the edges of said sole and attaching the bottom edges of said upper to the edges of said sole.

2. A toe dancing slipper comprising an outsole terminating ka substantial distance short of the toe of the slipper, and an upper attachedito said Voutsole without the conventional folds or plaits at vthe vtoe portion thereof, said upper having a seamextending from the front end of said outsole along the longitudinal axis of said upper at least to the top of the toe of said shoe.

3. 'A toe dancing slipper comprising an outsole terminating a substantial distance short of the V'toe of the slipper, and an upper attached to said outsole without the conventional folds or plaits at th'etoe'portion thereof, said upper having a seamextending along the longitudinal axis thereof from the front end of the outsole to the` front endof the footreceiving opening of said upper.

4, Atoe dancing slipper comprising an koutsole terminating a substantial distance short of Vthe toe of the slipper, and an upper attached to said outsole without the conventional folds or plaits at the toe portion thereof, said upper having a seam extending along Vithe longitudinal axis thereof from the front end of said outsole tota point adjacent the top of the toe of said upper.

vELIA DI RINZO. 

